Just stumbled across this on eBay. Appears to be a 35 wall phone with a pretty cool custom display stand. What stumped me is the plate on the front, D 23A??
Item # 322456421527
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/322456421527
Also, RARER??
It is a Type 50 wall phone, not 35, but it is mounted on some kind of stand.
I think I have seen this particular phone on eBay before.
The brass plate with codes doesn't look factory made, probably a custom made addition for some special purpose. The codes are not AE codes on it.
How about the Navy AE phones. They are Type A, Type B, C, D, E, Not sure if a Type D is a wall phone or not.
Terry
<edit> Okay, I knew we had a big topic on the AE Navy Phones:
http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1979.0
So a Type D is the big fancy AE Switchboard phone, have heard them referred to as Admirals phone(?). Could this AE 50 be labelled as an Extension on a Type D system maybe?
Terry
I've seen this on eBay myself recently--it's been floating around on there for a few weeks. I've hemmed and hawed over it myself, and I'm a bit surprised no one has snapped it up yet--the price isn't too horrible, IMO--I think mostly because no one, including the seller, knew what to make of the stand and the plaque on it. I know I certainly didn't.
(EDIT: I made this post when it was still up at the original price of around $100.00. Evidently this joker changes prices like he changes socks... :P )
If it were a Navy phone I think it would have a handset lock.
I wouldn't pick out just the D from the last line to associate it with one of the Navy types. D was a panel wall unit, not ?
My AE50 has a small plaque on it as well...must have been a "thing"...
I do like the stand made for it. It looks like it probably could be bakelite, though I don't believe it is. It is shinny on the back and blends in so well with the phone.
Benny
Quote from: unbeldi on March 19, 2017, 08:23:05 AM
If it were a Navy phone I think it would have a handset lock.
I wouldn't pick out just the D from the last line to associate it with one of the Navy types. D was a panel wall unit, not ?
Picture of a "Type D"
Terry
(http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1979.0;attach=110639)
Wow...That is a futuristic looking phone!
A couple more pictures of the AE50:
The Gold Decal...nothing unusual here Unbeldi?
Two pictures of the display stand. Could be Bakelite as in made by AE?
Terry
Quote from: AE_Collector on March 19, 2017, 11:07:57 AM
A couple more pictures of the AE50:
The Gold Decal...nothing unusual here Unbeldi?
No, not really. The B11 decal was used after ca. 1943, don't know for how long exactly, but probably until ca. 1952. B17 is the next label up (in my records) for wall phones and it already included the 1952 Silent Pawl patent for #51. If I had to go by the dial, I'd say it was made in 1955, but that could have been easily replaced for the "special application".
Quote
Two pictures of the display stand. Could be Bakelite as in made by AE?
Terry
There is no indication of AE manufacture, unless we can get some detailed views, perhaps there are some mold marks by the manufacturer. Many independent Bakelite molders impressed their logo somewhere.
The phone must be examined to make any more statements, unless someone finds a reference to the codes on the front. The plate appears to be made at the location of use, to designate something. I don't think it was made by a "manufacturer". Perhaps it is prepared this way in a railroad shop, and the codes designate a siding location on a track somewhere (more speculation).
Quote from: unbeldi on March 19, 2017, 11:46:52 AM
No, not really. The B11 decal was used after ca. 1943, don't know for how long exactly, but probably until ca. 1952. B17 is the next label up (in my records) for wall phones and it already included the 1952 Silent Pawl patent for #51. If I had to go by the dial, I'd say it was made in 1955, but that could have been easily replaced for the "special application".
There is no indication of AE manufacture, unless we can get some detailed views, perhaps there are some mold marks by the manufacturer. Many independent Bakelite molders impressed their logo somewhere.
The phone must be examined to make any more statements, unless someone finds a reference to the codes on the front. The plate appears to be made at the location of use, to designate something. I don't think it was made by a "manufacturer". Perhaps it is prepared this way in a railroad shop, and the codes designate a siding location on a track somewhere (more speculation).
I asked, the seller said it was made of wood. Sure don't look like it.
Edit:
Upon closer inspection, it does indeed look like wood. wood grain impressions on the top in the back. Two cracks on the bottom where the screws are.
I have a question:
I have done a good bit of research in the last 30 minutes to find the answer to this at no avail.
Why would the seller be lead to believe this is a "D 23 A" I can't find any reference to such a model, so far.
I have asked the seller why he thinks that and he hasn't responded.
Benny
Quote from: Pourme on March 19, 2017, 01:38:04 PM
I have a question:
I have done a good bit of research in the last 30 minutes to find the answer to this at no avail.
Why would the seller be lead to believe this is a "D 23 A" I can't find any reference to such a model, so far.
I have asked the seller why he thinks that and he hasn't responded.
Benny
Because it says that on the label. Most people selling phones on eBay don't know what kind they have and any type designation or number is used to give the phone a name or number. This is how 302s are sold as F1 telephones. Who can blame them.
The phones worth $50. It would be neat to see the stand up close but it isn't worth $200. It needs a "make an offer" button.
Terry
Quote from: AE_Collector on March 19, 2017, 03:47:46 PM
The phones worth $50. It would be neat to see the stand up close but it isn't worth $200. It needs a "make an offer" button.
Terry
I just noticed it's been pulled due to "an error in the listing." It'll be interesting to see if it goes back up under a different price and/or description. When I saw it, it was closer to $100.
Quote from: AE_Collector on March 19, 2017, 03:47:46 PM
The phones worth $50. It would be neat to see the stand up close but it isn't worth $200. It needs a "make an offer" button.
Terry
I tried to buy the phone...We sent messages back and forth all day....(He takes forever to respond)
Our conversation only resulted in the seller ending the sale. He said he would re-list on Thursday (must be his lucky day).
He is just a little odd...
I was only interested in the mount, I would have sold the phone. Guess he wasn't interested.
That's twice this weekend I missed out on something I wanted...
Benny
Maybe it will be back with a "make an offer" button.
Terry
That mount intrigues me...I'd love to have it... I was willing to pay a decent price for it...that guy was extremely unreasonable to deal with....he thinks the phone is worth way more than it is....
I did convence him that it wasn't a D 23 A...That's why he retracted the auction.
Re listed with accurate description and new price. He thinks a lot of his phone.
http://tinyurl.com/ky5k3hd
Wasn't it $249 originally? $149 now.
Terry
Quote from: AE_Collector on March 24, 2017, 01:35:10 PM
Wasn't it $249 originally? $149 now.
Terry
Yes, it was. WOW, what a deal! $100.00 off!
Porme, you should message him and ask how much for just the mount and let him sell the 50 separately. Might not be willing to open it up let alone remove it from the mount though.
Terry
Quote from: AE_Collector on March 24, 2017, 01:56:39 PM
Porme, you should message him and ask how much for just the mount and let him sell the 50 separately. Might not be willing to open it up let alone remove it from the mount though.
Terry
I didn't ask him to remove it from the mount and sell me the mount, but I did tell him I would remove the mount and sell the phone. He first thought it was a rare model, that explains the lower price. I'd like to have the mount but I'm over it now...
Benny
The stand of this phone is likely germane to its intended use in the application that is somehow encoded on the plaque. As such it was supposed to be used as a desk instrument, not wall mounted, as there appear no additional wall-mounting holes. So, separating it from that stand makes no sense, IMHO, unless the intent is to ruin it and part it out, in which case no one will ever come to correctly appreciate the application it was intended for.
There is no guarantee that the phone itself can be operated on a telephone line today, it may well require complete replacements of internal parts. Only inspection of the internals would provide that information, unless someone can find an explanation of the codes on the front.
If you're looking just for a stand for another phone, it should not be hard to make this yourself. Similar stands for wall phones have been introduced on the forum that are easy to make.
Of course all just speculation and "what ifs" but there are a few things about the code of interest. The letter L, the number 5214 while "out of range", we know that there are 50xx and 51xx 50's and as Unbeldi says, it may barely be recognizable as a phone inside thus this number may have been incremented into the 52xx range. No idea why they are in reverse order to normal and what if the entire number is just reversed? L5214-S-9. S9 follows potential dial/ringer type format though neither are likely. S as a year....possibly 1950 if A=1932 and 9 Assembly line? Or S year and 9 month or even the opposite, 9 as the year....1949?
Just saying, there are some similarities in this number to the numbers typically found on AE50's. Mixed around in order from the norm but convention doesn't seem to have stopped AE before, the "third field" codes where the number is first and two letters after the number are complete opposite their normal convention.
The only instances that I can think of with metal identification plates on AE phones of this era is phones made for the navy. And they also used the "Type x" identification for the navy phones.
Terry
I have been scanning through military communications manuals and websites occasionally since this appeared and have not come across a fitting system yet, nor any of the codes on this set. But the Navy, Army, and Airforce made a vast number of special systems, and some may have been only experimental.
Quote from: unbeldi on March 25, 2017, 07:33:25 AM
The stand of this phone is likely germane to its intended use in the application that is somehow encoded on the plaque. As such it was supposed to be used as a desk instrument, not wall mounted, as there appear no additional wall-mounting holes. So, separating it from that stand makes no sense, IMHO, unless the intent is to ruin it and part it out, in which case no one will ever come to correctly appreciate the application it was intended for.
There is no guarantee that the phone itself can be operated on a telephone line today, it may well require complete replacements of internal parts. Only inspection of the internals would provide that information, unless someone can find an explanation of the codes on the front.
If you're looking just for a stand for another phone, it should not be hard to make this yourself. Similar stands for wall phones have been introduced on the forum that are easy to make.
When I first saw this phone I was impressed with the mount. The phone its self may or may not be a significant AE50, IDK. It was never my intention to designate something special. Weather or not it can be used on modern phone lines makes no difference to me. In my case, it was all about the mount and how good my 50 with all the chrome trim would look, & the fact that it would open up more display possibilities.
Two pieces of wood could be made into a mount I'm sure. That is what someone did to create this mount. At first glance I thought perhaps this may have been a Bakelite or some other molded product. Someone with way more talent and woodworking tools than me, crafted this mount. The way it hugs and mirrors the beautiful contours and angles of this phone is what drew me to want it for my phone. Believe me, if I had the experience and power equipment to make one of these I would have already done it!
I will leave the future of this phone to the wisdom of someone else. I hope someone on this forum gets it so we can all know what becomes of it...& maybe where it came from, as well.
Benny